Tua Tagovailoa speaks highly of Dolphins rookie QB Quinn Ewers: ‘Quinn has been balling’

The NFL Draft slide ended for Quinn Ewers in the seventh round thanks to the Miami Dolphins. Head coach Mike McDaniel is always looking for quarterback depth behind Tua Tagovailoa. But the Dolphins may have gotten a lot more than just somebody who is your average backup.

Early returns on Ewers have been great out of training camp. Even Tagovailoa is speaking highly of the rookie quarterback. Not just on the field either, as Tagovailoa gave us a peek at how Ewers is handling things behind closed doors.

“I think Quinn has been balling,” Tagovailoa said, via Pro Football Talk. “I think he’s been buying into what he’s been told in the quarterback room and then things that he’s taken from the meeting rooms. With Mike’s meetings, ‘Slow’s’ [senior passing game specialist Bobby Slowik] meetings, and ‘Bev’s’ [QBs coach/pass game coordinator Darrell Bevell] meetings, and he’s been able to take that out here on the practice field. He’s been doing really well.”

Ewers became one of the more polarizing players during this past NFL Draft cycle. After things wrapped up from Green Bay, reports came out saying teams believed Ewers was “too big of a name to be a clipboard holder.” His agent, Ron Slavin, called the thought process “chickens***.”

Three season were spent in Austin as the Texas starting quarterback under Steve Sarkisian. Ewers helped the program reach heights it had not seen in nearly 15 years, first winning a Big 12 Championship in 2023. Texas was then a part of two consecutive College Football Playoffs, coming just a couple plays short of playing in national championship games.

In 37 games played, Ewers threw for 9,128 yards, 68 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions. While many saw the high upside with Ewers, the former No. 1 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, the lack of consistency was a major issue.

How Ewers adapts to the NFL game will be fascinating to follow, mainly during training camp. Aug. 10 could be a date to circle for the Dolphins’ first preseason game of the year. They will head up to Chicago for a showdown against the Chicago Bears, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.

So far, so good for Ewers. There is no true competition between him and Tagovailoa entering the year. But some wisdom can certainly be gathered from the veteran early in his career. Impressive feedback for Ewers from QB1 in Miami.